


Sand On The Riverside

by Tilly_Hyena



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: F/F, Firestar is mentioned, Graystripe is also mentioned, but bluestar is ornery so shes not made a warrior yet, imagine being 24 and your teacher wont let you graduate because you havent beaten someones ass yet, poor gal, sandpaw is a grown ass woman in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23082967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tilly_Hyena/pseuds/Tilly_Hyena
Summary: Silverstream is a loyal RiverClan warrior - she's got everything she wants. Daughter of the leader, one of the best fishers there is, and a great diplomat that has kept them out of many unnecessary fights. She follows the warrior code to a T. But.....
Relationships: Sandstorm/Silverstream (Warriors)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Sand On The Riverside

Silverstream watched Loudbelly sniff along the reeds at the edge of the river. They sprouted up in spring and summer, but now in the dead of winter the cold had killed them off. Now they were dead yellow-grey stalks, just... sitting there uselessly. In the spring, baby ducks and geese would find this to be their nursery.

The story her father told her was that their RiverClan ancestors had been inspired to weave their nursery out of reeds thanks to birds like geese.

"Silverstream!" Beetlenose called out sharply. She jolted, and rushed to pad alongside her former mentor. "You seem distracted. Is everything alright?"

"Of course," the queen mewed, nearly toppling as she stepped on a loose pebble. "Of course everything's alright. I'm just lost in my head today, you know how I get."

Beetlenose gave a nod and padded onward, going a little ahead to join their patrolmates.

They reached the part of the river preceding the Sunningrocks and she couldn't help but think of that grey tom she'd saved earlier in the week. The day had been so cold, the water fleeting past him - just driving more cold into his fur and bones. Was he okay? She'd saved him, pressed the water from his lungs, reprimanded him. He had been walking fine. _Did he ever get a chill?_ she wondered. _Does ThunderClan have enough medicine to care for him? Does_ he _have enough sense to care for himself?_

All very concerning.

"ThunderClan scent," Graypool grunted. Despite being a senior warrior, she'd come out just to stretch her legs - the cold had been bothering her. But her age didn't matter now; Silverstream perked up. She was almost half-hoping she'd see that gray warrior, oafish as he was, just to know he had made it out okay.

"They were on _our_ side of the river?" Loudbelly gasped, craning his ears toward the old queen. "How?"

"The ice," Silverstream mewed. Then, quickly, "I- I chased them off the ice a few days ago. Just a few silly apprentices, but if they can cross, any lightweight ThunderClanner can."

"Hmm." Beetlenose twitched his tail. "I wish you would have told us."

"Sorry. I got distracted," Silverstream mewed. Lying to her beloved mentor felt so strange. She gave a great big yawn and stretched her back.

She was about to ask where they were going next when movement caught her eye. She looked over at the Sunningrocks and noted a small, but notably boxy - ThunderClanny - head peep out from behind the largest of the Sunningrocks. Silverstream was about to hiss, but then the stranger gave her the motion every cat recognized - _Come here! Shhh, I have to talk to you!_

A chill went up her spine. What would a weird ThunderClan cat have to talk to her about? She peered around at her patrolmates. "You guys go ahead," she said, trying to speak slowly. "I have to make dirt. I'll catch up in a few."

"Alright," Graypool said raspily, coming over to lick her niece's cheek. "If you spot anything odd let us know."

Silverstream nodded. Lying to her aunt was even stranger. She watched them pad off, then turned and walked over to the edge of the icy river. The hole where the gray warrior had fallen was iced over again, but only thinly - the shimmering surface pulsated with the gentle flow of the undercurrent.

She hopped across the slick Steppingstones, reaching the hard beach that surrounded the Sunningrocks. "This better be good, ThunderClanner."

Some shuffles, clattering pebbles.

Then, the most _beautiful_ ThunderClan cat she had ever seen emerged.

They were slender - far more slender than a typical ThunderClanner - but they were HUGE! They towered over Silverstream and their fur was thick and bunched in places, as if there had been a grooming session shortly before. A long banded tail swept the ground and their sandy-cream fur looked almost like the frozen sand under her paws.

The pressure in her head and the fluttering in her heart felt like a bee's nest. For a moment all she could do was stare.

"Uh- Who are you?" she asked, stupefied.

"My name is Sandpaw," the stranger mewed. "I just..."

 _You're an apprentice?_ Silverstream marveled. Awfully big to be a 'paw.

"I wanted to- uh, to thank you," the queen mumbled. "For saving Graystripe a few days ago."

"Oh," Silverstream said, before the sentence had fully processed. Then- "Oh. Oh! You're welcome. It wasn't- it wasn't anything. Just. you know. Saving a cat. No need to let someone die in the water we drink."

Sandpaw laughed, her nose wrinkling up and her teeth showing a little. On any other cat bared teeth would have greatly alarmed Silverstream, but here it made her feel warm. It made her feel so welcomed. What was going on with her? Hello?

"Well, I wanted to say thank you. He's home and safe. He's got a terrible chill but the medicine cat says he should be fine if he rests," Sandpaw mewed.

"That's good. I was concerned, I won't lie..." It felt like a weight taken off her shoulders. "He just seems... no offense, a bit like a dunce... I worried."

"Duncery is the way of ThunderClan," Sandpaw said with a nonchalant shrug. "Anyway, I know you have a patrol to get back to.."

"Wait," Silverstream mewed. "I- Are you _sure_ you're a paw?" she blurted. Oh, that wasn't the way she wanted to ask that. That sounded super weird and also accusatory. "Sorry. I mean, like, you're just. You're _massive_ and you seem... Very grown."

"Oh. Yeah," Sandpaw huffed with a less-than-amused sniff. "Bluestar wants us to do something _big_ and _heroic_ to earn our Warrior Name, but ThunderClan is almost as boring as kittypet life," she grumbled. "Hey, you know what? Graystripe and Fireheart are _three moons_ younger than me, and _they_ got their Warrior Names."

"Oh." Silverstream twisted an ear back. "That's foxbreath."

"I know!" Sandpaw grunted. "It's _awful_. There's nothing to do so we just stand around staring at each other until some other Clan unsheathes their claws. Then we get our warrior names."

"It works like that in RiverClan but it's not... battle-oriented," she mewed. "Like, uhhh... My mentor, Beetlenose, his sister Petaldust got her warrior name because she jumped the gorge in a panic to stop some rowdy WindClan apprentices from accidentally falling in. She almost fell in, herself, but she didn't. So when she crossed back over the bridge downstream, Hailstar just made her a warrior right then and there for her bravery and selflessness."

"Ugh, that sounds _awesome_." Sandpaw flattened her ears. "But nooo. We have to go put our necks on the line for some petty squabbles or territory borders that are already well-set..." she thumped her tail. "I have a theory ShadowClan truly believes they can move the Thunderpath if they mark it the wrong way enough."

"My sister Vixenstep says the same thing about WindClan," Silverstream giggled. "They _love_ going across the bridge and marking the wrong side..."

"Hey," Sandpaw purred, "Maybe you could stir something up next time I'm on a Sunningrocks patrol. I'll pretend to beat you up and then I can get my warrior name. I mean, I'm.... if you put two nines together, that's how many moons old I am."

"That's ridiculous," Silverstream declared. "Yeah. Next time we see each other I'll kick up some drama and you can hand my tail back to me, but only if we meet again and you give me some ThunderClan freshkill to try as payback."

"Sounds like a date," Sandpaw laughed. "See you, uh- later?"

"Maybe so," Silverstream said, flicking her tail.

With that, they parted. Silverstream peered back through the reeds when she knew she was out of eyesight, enveloped in their pale stalks.

She was pleased as peaches to find that Sandpaw was looking back toward her, with that little wrinkle-muzzled smile.


End file.
